Cresford Developments, one of Toronto's leading luxury condo developers, is currently the focus of a wrongful dismissal suit launched by its former president.
On January 21, Maria Athanasoulis filed a 33-page wrongful dismissal claim that alleges Cresford Developments has a "crash crisis" and is failing to pay its contractors and real estate brokers, as first reported by The Globe and Mail.
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Cresford Developments is currently building four condominium projects in the city, including The Clover on Yonge (593 Yonge Street), Halo Residences (480 Yonge Street), 33 Yorkville Residences, and YSL Residences (383 Yonge Street). In her claim, Athanasoulis alleges Cresford needs close to $150-million to finish these projects.
"In order to complete the Projects, Cresford must meet its obligations to lenders, contractors and other stakeholders. This requires access to funding that Cresford does not currently have,” the lawsuit claims, according to The Globe and Mail.
Furthermore, Athanasoulis' claim alleges Cresford has been internally transferring money between older and newer projects in order to cover bills.
The Globe and Mail said Athanasoulis claimed: "she was sidelined when she attempted to arrange a deal to restructure the company by selling off some of its key real estate holdings." Now, Athanasoulis is seeking close to $50-million in compensation, saying she is owed 20% from the four uncompleted condominium projects.
According to The Globe and Mail, Cresford's chairman, Daniel Casey, has since made a counterclaim, which alleges that Athanasoulis “exaggerated the size and urgency of Cresford’s payables and cost overruns” and "accuses her of breaching her fiduciary duties to the developer."
Casey’s counterclaim acknowledges that ″there were certain financial issues that would have to be dealt with, but Cresford, based on [Ms. Athanasoulis’s] analysis, would have about a year to resolve those issues" as of August 2019.
According to The Globe and Mail, Casey is now seeking millions in damages for her alleged mismanagement.
As the original article points out, none of the allegations by either side have been tested in court.
